"So many hats and only one head!"
CAMP: "A cornucopia of frivolity, incongruity, theatricality, and humour." "A deadly, winking, sniggering, snuggling, chromium-plated, scent-impregnated, luminous, quivering, giggling, fruit-flavored, mincing, ice-covered heap of mother love." "The lie that tells the truth." "Ostentatious, exaggerated, affected, theatrical; effeminate or homosexual; pertaining to or characteristic of homosexuals."
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
Sunday, 5 June 2011
Dirty Gertie from Number 30
Gertrude Lawrence, photographed by Cecil Beaton, 1930
From an article in The Daily Mail [of all places!]:
Yes, it was a spectacle the star's daughter was never to forget. As Pamela Clatworthy opened the door of the Number One dressing room at New York's St James Theatre on an April afternoon in 1951, she encountered a scene that froze her in her tracks.Gertrude Lawrence on Wikipedia
Her mother, the legendary musical star Gertrude Lawrence, was in flagrante.
Her oyster-pink hooped satin ball gown was over her head like an inverted circus tent. Burrowing beneath it with dedicated zeal was a man of whom Pamela could see only his bare feet and equally bare buttocks.
'When they noticed I was there, and he emerged, his head was as bald as his backside, and I realised it was Yul Brynner'.
That was the first intimation Pamela had that her mother was involved in a passionate affair with her co-star in the hit Broadway musical, The King And I, a married man 17 years Gertie's junior, who owed to her his ascent to stardom.
'It was a closely guarded secret,' says Pamela. So secret that it has eluded every biographer of Lawrence and Brynner.
'It makes me laugh when I keep hearing stories about my mother supposedly being a lesbian. She was the complete reverse. Her appetite for men verged on nymphomania.'
Friday, 3 June 2011
La bella figura
“The expression ‘Made in Italy’ has become a global codeword for an embodiment of style, conveying Italy’s position at the forefront of international trends, inspiring and influencing the designers of tomorrow as it has done for over half a century”.
To mark the 150th anniversary of Italy’s unification, a new exhibition Masters of Style: Celebrating the Stories behind Italian Fashion is at Somerset House this summer (1 July – 14 August).
It brings together six of Italy’s most influential fashion houses to celebrate the stories behind Italian fashion. Looking at defining moments from their advertising campaigns, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Ferragamo, Gucci, Missoni and Prada will showcase a personally hand-picked selection of images from their collections and archives, bringing to life iconic style moments and offering an insight into the passion and influences behind their work.
This exhibition is curated by Peroni Nastro Azzurro in partnership with fashion commentator Colin McDowell.
Masters of Style
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Sunday, 29 May 2011
Thursday, 26 May 2011
One hundred years of that voice
As we head towards the centenary this weekend of the birth of one of the most magnificently-voiced actors who ever lived - Mr Vincent Price - I have discovered a gem.
There is little I could post here in the Dolores Delargo Towers Museum of Camp that could quite compare with this most comprehensive of collections...
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Vincent Price Exhibit is open - enjoy it!
Saturday, 21 May 2011
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